Welsh exports lead the way, official figures reveal

United Kingdom 18 Sep 2013

Related Links

International trade offers huge opportunities for growth and success, but it also comes with risks. Foreign exchange risks are consistently mentioned as one of the issues with doing business abroad. Fluctuating exchange rates can leave SMEs out of pocket if their revenues and costs are in different currencies. ACCA’s own research found that around 45% of accountants with small and medium sized clients said foreign exchange risk as an issue for their clients. Your ACCA accountant should always be your first port of call for advice on this and any other financial or business planning matters

—Ben Cottam, head of ACCA Wales/Cymru

Value of exports from Wales higher than the UK average

Official figures show that the value of exports from Wales is higher than the UK average and also more than 100% higher than at the turn of the century, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Cymru/Wales highlights today.

As well as leading the way on exports, the figures also show that Welsh companies are less exposed to the uncertainty of the Eurozone with EU countries accounting for 43% of export destinations, compared to 48% UK wide.

Ben Cottam, head of ACCA Cymru/Wales, said: 'A huge proportion of the private sector in Wales is comprised of smaller businesses and it is fantastic to see that they are seizing the opportunities offered by trading outside of our borders. More so than ever we live in a global economy and firms in Cardiff are competing just as much with firms from China or Brazil as they are from Swansea or Wrexham.

'International trade offers huge opportunities for growth and success, but it also comes with risks. Foreign exchange risks are consistently mentioned as one of the issues with doing business abroad. Fluctuating exchange rates can leave SMEs out of pocket if their revenues and costs are in different currencies. ACCA’s own research found that around 45% of accountants with small and medium sized clients said foreign exchange risk as an issue for their clients. Your ACCA accountant should always be your first port of call for advice on this and any other financial or business planning matters.'

The figures were released by the Office for National Statistics, and ACCA’s report of foreign exchange risks can be viewed via the 'Related Links' section, left of this article.